After the Orphanage
by Bibliophile109
Summary: When Zucco came into Dick Grayson's life, there was no fairy-tale rescuer to take him in. After a year in Gotham's orphanages, he changed. Three years later, he's still found his way to the team-but will his secrets interfere with his new life? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_I own nothing. Except my laptop, and that's debatable._

* * *

Four years ago, Dick's life went somewhere in a hand basket.

He'd had it good until then. He traveled the world with his parents, playing the crowds and stunning the critics. He had friends in the circus, and he'd like to think that he'd had a family.

And then Zucco came. His parents were dead. The circus abandoned him. And because it was the real world, not some fairy tale, there was no knight in shining armor to take him in.

To the orphanage, then, with the last Grayson. When the ringmaster, face full of compassion, told him where he'd go, Dick was cautiously hopeful. He envisioned a new home, a school, and perhaps even friends. He didn't hope for adoption—his parents' deaths were too fresh for that—but he thought he might have a family again, someday.

One problem put a stop to all that. His parents died in Gotham.

The orphanage was in Gotham.

It only took a year for Dick to run away.

YJYJYJYJ

Batman had spent years perfecting his BatGlare. This was common knowledge. Once, he'd caught an entire forum online dedicated to analysis of his glare and speculation as to how he'd developed it. (He'd rebuked all theories and given some pointers under the alias 'Matches Malone'.)

What most people _didn't_ realize was that he'd spent just as long perfecting the actual persona. When he was out partying, giving models smoldering looks and the rest of the club drinks, that was Bruce Wayne. And when he was patrolling his city, as he was now, he slipped into the Batman frame of mind.

He prided himself, privately, on his persona. He was as strong as a bodybuilder, better at martial arts than most Kung Fu gurus, and more disciplined than… well, no one else could compare.

Batman utilized that discipline now, stilling in his journey across the rooftops as a faint noise reached his ears. It was a sort of scuffle, barely heard, but it sounded close by. He was immediately on guard. The Dark Knight turned slowly, scanning the area.

There was nothing. There was so much nothing that the Batman—purveyor of discipline and physical perfection, as described above—began to doubt what he'd heard. And then a small boy crept out of the shadows.

He was thin; that's the first thing Batman noticed. It was blatantly obvious that what little food he'd eaten went straight to the muscled arms, without giving much thought to things like the ribcage or internal organs. But he _was_ muscled, quite clearly for one who looked to be about ten years old.

Batman briefly wondered what could make a child into such a study in contrasts.

The boy's hair fell messily to his ears, and Batman could tell it had been cut clumsily, perhaps with a knife or some other ungainly implement. Electric blue eyes stared up at him defiantly from beneath the hair, daring him to say anything.

He did anyway.

"Who are you?" This is where the Batman persona came in. He kept his voice impassive and cool, leveling a steady gaze at the boy and waiting expectantly for an answer.

He wasn't disappointed. "I'm Rick," returned the boy in a steady voice.

"And what are you doing here?"

The answer did what few things could do: it shook Batman's mask, nearly made him start in surprise.

"You could say I'm applying for a job."

* * *

_What do you think? This has been sitting around in my head for a while now-I have a pretty good idea of where I want it to go, and I think I might actually finish this one. PIs anyone interested?_

_Let me know!_

_-Bibliophile109_


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow! People liked it! I'm happy now._

_Just so you know, the rest of the story takes place around the time of the first season. Everything happened like it did in the episodes, unless stated otherwise; the only thing that's different is Robin. There's more on his new 'character' in this chappie._

_Also, I'm not too sure on the details of the series, so if there's anything I got wrong, let me know._

* * *

"CONNER!"

Conner flinched at his name, and turned slowly. "…Yes, Megan?"

The alien girl marched up to him and shoved her finger in his face. "_Where_ is the last plate?"

He gulped, but widened his eyes innocently. "Plate? Of what?"

"_Cookies_! Cookies that _I_ made! For _everyone_ to _share_!" she growled, glowering at him.

Conner raised his eyebrows. "…Are you implying that I ate an entire plate of cookies by myself?"

Megan gave him a once-over. "…Yes. Yes, that's _exactly_ what I'm implying."

Conner made to answer, but was saved by the arrival of Kaldur into the kitchen.

"We have a mission."

At the Atlantean's announcement, Kid Flash sped into the kitchen. Robin followed at a more sedate pace. "Oh?" the Boy Wonder drawled, raising his eyebrows above the mask.

Kaldur glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but ignored him except for the slightest twitch. "An escapee from Arkham prison in Gotham, so normally we wouldn't get this one."

"With Batman in the Andes, though…" Megan started.

Kaldur nodded. The Bat had left that morning to deal with a 'situation', and wasn't expected back for another few hours. "We got the call to take care of it.

Megan and Wally cheered, racing off to the zeta beam. Superboy followed, and Kaldur pulled Robin aside.

"Listen…" he started, shook his head, and tried again. "Gotham is your area, we all know that. Would you—I mean, could you help—"

Robin looked up at the taller boy in amusement. "You want me to tell you where to go?"

Kaldur nodded in relief. "None of us have ever been there, and street maps can only do so much."

"No problem."

As he walked away, a thought occurred to Robin. _If con is the opposite of pro, then couldn't you just say 'conblem'?_ But he kept his thoughts to himself.

YJYJYJYJ

Kaldur considered the younger boy on their way through the streets of Gotham. He led them well, with an ease that came of intimate knowledge of the surroundings. The others on the team followed, but Kaldur noticed that they would often look to their leader for confirmation.

It wasn't surprising. Everyone acknowledged that Robin had the most experience of any of them, and he was certainly the most skilled. He always seemed a bit… distant, though. He didn't socialize more than necessary, and generally kept to himself at the base. The acrobat was a mystery, and one that didn't go out of his way to be solved.

They were moving fast, racing across the rooftops. Suddenly, Robin skidded to a halt and pressed himself against the ground, motioning for the others to get down. When they were sufficiently concealed, Robin waved his hand at Kaldur, as if to say, '_all yours'_.

Kaldur peeked over the edge of the building. There was the escapee, throwing cars and uprooting lampposts and generally causing havoc. Not too skilled, but the super strength would be a problem, and Kaldur made a note to have Superboy take the first shot.

He glanced around at the team. They nodded and smiled back at him.

"Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

_Wow! 9 reviews already!_

_I own nothing, yadda yadda... Make sure you read the AN at the end; there are some important questions that could help me get another chapter up tonight!_

* * *

As it turned out, the villain was fairly easy to take down. He may have had super strength, but it was a new development, and it was clear he didn't have experience using it. Superboy was able to subdue him fairly easily, and then the team just had to handle clean-up.

This, of course, was easier said than done for a bunch of teenagers—when they had finally made sure that the injured were taken care of, most of the kids were grumbling.

"Where's the ambulance?" Wally complained.

Robin raised his eyebrow. "For something as small as this?" There had only been a few broken bones, after all, and the Gotham hospital didn't take much short of bullet wounds.

The others gave him odd looks at his comment. Robin ignored them; they just didn't understand Gotham like he did.

Kaldur elected to take charge. "Let's get back to the Zeta beam. The night's still young, and the League might still need us for something."

They headed back across the rooftops.

YJYJYJYJ

When the team returned to the tower, there was a surprise waiting for them.

"Batman!" Megan exclaimed, before covering her mouth with a blush.

The rest of Young Justice looked equally apprehensive. Sure, they had been _told_ to go take care of the latest baddie. Still, it was Batman, and he was ridiculously territorial over Gotham.

Thankfully, he didn't say anything to them, instead turning to Robin.

"I heard about the escape."

Robin nodded immediately. "Back in Arkham now, didn't give us much trouble. Easier than the last two, anyway."

Batman focused on him. "Name?"

"Julian Webb."

The Bat nodded. "Cave. Now."

They left.

* * *

_What do you think? Sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm trying to get another one up later tonight. In the meantime, I'd like some help:_

_What should I call Robin? In the first chapter, he said his name was Rick, just because I imagine that being named 'Dick' in an orphanage would be painting a target on your back. But now, what do I do? Calling him Rick sounds wrong, and you can only call a character 'Robin' so many times in the same paragraph. Let me know what you think!_

_Also, it's been requested that I do flashbacks to his time in the orphanage/on the streets (thanks, Bobby Corwen!). Does anyone else like this idea? If so, how 'graphic' should I get? I'm determined to keep the story 'T' rated, but I've got no real objection to whumping Robby. Again, let me know in a review or PM!_

_-Bibliophile109_


	4. Chapter 4

_And here's a new chapter! See what nice reviews can accomplish?_

_Special thanks to_ Bobby Corwen_ and _Brightpath2_ for reviewing all three chapters!_

_As always, I own nothing._

* * *

_It was cold. Dick had curled into the fetal position, clutching his thin blanket around him like a lifeline, and he was tucked against the wall in a futile attempt to keep warm—but it was cold, and he was hungry, and he just couldn't keep a slight sniffle from escaping._

_It was a mistake. The boys nearest him, huddled in their own blankets, turned slowly, hampered by sluggish muscles and disbelief. They looked at him incredulously, and Dick could feel himself shrinking under their gazes._

_A boy across the room stood up. He had clearly supplemented the orphanage uniform with several shirts, sweatpants, and other assorted articles; Dick felt a surge of envy that turned to terror when the boy headed towards him._

_"Are you going to keep whimpering like that all night?" he demanded._

_Dick looked up shakily. "No…" he mumbled._

_"What did you say?" The older boy stepped closer. "It's your first day here, so maybe I'll be nice. But if you want to last long here, you'll take my advice: don't think about home. Don't go crying for Mommy." He leaned forward. "If you want to last more than a week in here, shut up and get out of the way."_

YJYJYJYJ

The cave was silent when the billionaire and his protégé arrived. Bruce went straight to the computer, pulling up Julian Webb's records. Robin settled into the background, watching silently.

Bruce thought about his partner as he flipped through the files. Taking on the young acrobat had seemed like an impulsive decision at first. 'Rick' had been so young that his ability was a real concern, and Alfred had had many talks with him over the ethics of sending a ten-year-old out on the streets of Gotham.

The problem was that the boy had already been there. Bruce had been orphaned as a child much like Richard had been, but he couldn't imagine trying to survive in the same way. He'd had a home and wealth in his parents' estate, and a surrogate father in Alfred. On the streets, Richard had nothing, and yet even that was preferable to life in the orphanages.

The experience made him strong, if nothing else. After less than a year of training, Bruce was assured that Richard could hold his own. He became Robin, the masked vigilante, and had brought down a good number of criminals. Now, he was the only one that Bruce truly trusted in Gotham.

The computer beeped gently, indicating that the correct record had been found. As Bruce read it, his scowl grew.

His partner would be tested soon enough.

"Robin? There's another one."


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey! It seems like the flashback worked (although I only got one review... thx Bobby Corwen!), so I'll try to have one at the beginning of every chapter. Except, this chapter is more flashback than non-flashback... Ah well._

_I'm dead tired, so let's get this over with: I own zilch!_

* * *

_The other children, Dick soon found out, were not the biggest threat here. Yes, they were casually cruel, tossing out insults and scathing remarks on a daily basis. Yes, they were responsible for the majority of his all-too-frequent injuries, and for the nights that he couldn't sleep from the pain. But really, they were just the most visible evil. The real killer was hunger._

_Like in most things, the orphanage gave little thought to their charges' nutrition. A serving of over-cooked oatmeal was given to each child every morning, but that was essentially it. It was hardly enough to stave off the hunger pangs, and certainly not enough to fuel a growing boy. _

_At first, Dick didn't know what to do about it, so he waited. He watched the other boys, and couldn't see anyone eating at the orphanage. Three days into his stay, Dick followed a group of boys out into the streets of Gotham. He didn't know what he'd expected; a soup kitchen? Some sort of food bank?_

_As it turned out, there were two main food sources for orphans in Gotham. You could dumpster-dive, a concept that at once seemed both repulsive and increasingly appealing. Or, you could steal._

_Dick didn't want to steal. From day one (or three), he promised himself that he wouldn't sink that low. He'd been raised to believe that it was wrong, and when he'd already lost his parents, he refused to lose their morals as well. But even with his forays into the city's trashcans, Dick wasn't getting enough food._

_It was a testament to his strength of will that he lasted a month before giving in._

YJYJYJYJ

Robin liked working with Young Justice. He really did. They helped people, it was a chance to get out of Gotham, and he got to 'enjoy' a lighter atmosphere than was present between him and the Bat. So really, he liked working with them.

It was just that he preferred working with Batman infinitely more.

"Why do I have to go in with them?" he asked in a tone bordering on plaintive.

"Because I told you to."

"But it's in Gotham!"

"They did fine with you last night."

"But you couldn't be there! Now you can!"

"Are you suggesting that I would deny budding heroes a learning experience?" Batman asked, leaning back in his chair with an unholy gleam in his eyes.

"…No…" Robin muttered, "but I _am_ suggesting you're possessive."

Bruce didn't honor that with a response.

* * *

_Next chapter we find out what the deal is... Review! It'll make me happy!_

_Oh, and I don't have a beta, so any input on grammatical errors is good. I can't stand it when I read stuff with mistakes, so let me know so I can fix it!_


End file.
